Woman who accused VA police’s second-in-command of sexual assault asks feds for closure
Three years after an alleged sexual assault at the Atlanta VA, Shaneka Jackson says she's still grappling with the federal complaint process. (FOX 5)
ATLANTA - The victim of an alleged sexual assault at the Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center is calling on the government to hurry up and rule on her case.
Shaneka Jackson says she’s frustrated by the ongoing back-and-forth with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It's been two and half years since she filed her complaint with the VA's EEO office, and more than a year since her last appeal.
The process is taking so long that the man she accused, the Atlanta VA’s former deputy police chief, Johnnie McCullor, has already retired.
"I'm sure I'll still have trauma from this, but with this still going on and open, I'm worried," Jackson, a former dispatcher for the VA's police department, told the FOX 5 I-Team. "I just don't know what's going to happen, and I really want to know the end of this."
The retirement of Deputy Chief of Police Johnnie McCullor in June marked another turn in Veterans Affairs's efforts to root out dysfunction within the Atlanta VA's police department. (FOX 5)
When the Veterans Affairs Office of the Senior Security Officer looked into her allegations more than two years ago, it came down on her side, calling her reports "accurate and truthful." The investigation findings said staff described McCullor as "vindictive, condescending, toxic, and as having a reputation as a ‘womanizer.’" The report also said his behavior created the appearance of "a romantic interest in Jackson."
Her EEO investigation, though, carried out by a different division, was another matter.
An alleged assault
VA police dispatcher wants EEO complaint heard
A former VA police dispatcher who accused a superior officer of sexually assaulting her says, she wants closure. And she's asking the federal government to hurry up and give it to her. It's been two and half years since the woman filed an EEO complaint, and more than a year since she filed an appeal.
Jackson, a retired Air Force military police officer and a mother of three, says she hasn’t been the same since what happened to her. Once an outgoing, career-minded mother of three, now she said she barely leaves her house.
"I still suffer through daily panic attacks, anxiety, things of that nature," Jackson said. "I’m unable to have relationships. I don't trust men, so to speak, anymore."
Among other allegations, Jackson claimed McCullor feigned interest in her career, helping her get a job with Culpepper & Associates Security, a private security company the Atlanta VA also uses.
But then one day in 2021, Jackson claimed, while alone with her in his office, McCullor allegedly closed the door, exposed himself, and groped her, saying, "I told you it would cost you."
Shaneka Jackson, a retired Air Force military police officer, told the FOX 5 I-Team she wants justice from her EEO complaint, or at least closure. (FOX 5)
McCullor denied all of her claims when he met with EEO investigators. He did not respond to messages from the I-Team about this story.
Despite the findings of the VA’s Senior Security Officer investigation, McCullor remained the police department’s second-in-command. The VA told the I-Team in a statement that "disciplinary measures were implemented in response to substantiated claims," but would not elaborate.
The VA is still investigating reports of dysfunction within the police department, but it can’t touch McCullor now because he took retirement in June.
Jackson continues to pursue her EEOC appeal though, because that agency, which enforces job discrimination and harassment laws, could make the VA pay her compensatory damages.
"I'm just asking that they finish the process," Jackson said. "I have nightmares about things that have occurred to me, specifically this incident that occurred, the sexual assault."
A former dispatcher accused the Atlanta VA Medical Center's ex-deputy chief of police, Johnnie McCullor, of sexually assaulting her in his office. He retired while still under investigation.
She filed her EEO complaint with the VA two and a half years ago, but an administrative law judge threw it out, saying it wasn't filed in a timely manner and she wasn't a VA employee when most of her allegations happened.
Jackson appealed to the EEOC, which handles appeals of complaints in federal workplaces. She had her appeal rejected, then appealed again. She argued that Culpepper contracted with the VA, essentially placing her under the authority of the Atlanta VA’s police department and its top brass.
"I was a VA employee," Jackson told the I-Team. "If I wasn't, then I wouldn't have had a VA employee ID."
Atlanta employment attorney Amanda Farahany said because of backlogs and staffing issues, EEOC appeals can take a year to 18 months. (FOX 5)
Atlanta employment attorney Amanda Farahany said anxiety from protracted litigation is common among women who have been sexually harassed and traumatized. Jackson isn’t her client, but Farahany said she seems to be doing the right thing – keeping attention on her case and hoping the government moves faster.
"The EEOC in particular, they take a long time to get through the process," Farahany said. "They are underfunded, not enough people, and with the things that happened during Covid, are even more backed up than they were before."
Her letter to EEOC
When Jackson’s appeal reached a year old this month, she sent a letter to the EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations.
"Please explain what happens to an EEOC case or appeal when the accused resigns," she wrote, adding later, "It has been over a year – that's 365 days of suffering. I am the victim. I just want impartial justice and equitable relief. Please help."
She received a response earlier this month, saying her case remains open, explaining the process, and saying, "Please be assured that the appeal is being processed in a fair and equitable manner. Thank you for your continued patience."
When former Atlanta VA Deputy Chief of Police Johnnie McCullor met with EEO investigators, he denied all of Shaneka Jackson’s claims.
The I-Team reached out to the EEOC for this story, but got a short reply: "We cannot comment on a pending appeal."
Meanwhile, Jackson isn’t the only one still waiting for closure. Other current and former police department employees have EEO complaints pending, and the VA hasn’t wrapped up its internal investigation into the department’s troubled culture, which has the police chief, Beverly Banks, suspended with pay.
Atlanta VA Medical Center Police Chief Beverly Banks has been suspended with pay since May, when an internal investigation into the department's troubled culture began.
After that investigation launched in May, the FOX 5 I-Team obtained an audio recording from a 2023 command staff meeting, provided by an officer in attendance, wherein Chief Banks is heard telling staff, "I don’t want to hire black women no more."
"I don't have no Hispanic women," she’s also heard saying. "Hell, I don't want them neither."
Retired VA police officer David Bennett, seen here during a May interview, said that when top brass weren't held accountable for bad behavior, a toxic culture festered in the Atlanta VA's police department. (FOX 5)
Retired VA police officer David Bennett has his own EEO complaint pending, accusing Banks of disclosing confidential information about him during a morning meeting. Still in touch with his former co-workers, he says the department remains in limbo because no one knows if Banks might be back.
"Collectively, everyone wants to see change," Bennett said. "They've got a bit of a morale problem. The only way you’re going to fix that is from the top down."